Generations
by ClassicalBrunette and Jmok
Summary: AU.Two very crucial people in the Clone Wars take padawans shortly after the Battle of Geonosis. Anakin was knighted at that time.
1. A Fated Meeting

**Authors' Note: Hey everyone! This is the co-written story of ClassicalBrunette and jedimasterobi-wankenobi, two separate authors here in Fan Fiction.**

**This story combines both our Original Characters Arryn Mindalen and Jaina Knightrunner. It's pretty much about life as a padawan to renowned Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars. We're both just humans and we have feelings so please don't flame!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own ANYTHING except our original characters, their friends and some of the bad guys.**

Chapter 1 - A Fated Meeting

Sunlight creeped its way into a pink bedroom as its inhabitant sleepily snoozed the alarm clock.

"Five more minutes, master...wait a minute...OH NO!"

Jaina Knightrunner swiftly jumped out of her bed and ran into the fresher. She was turning thirteen years-old, had shoulder-length black hair, and was LATE for the breakfast before Exhibition Day would begin.

"Oh, come on!" she cried as she put on the wrong boot. She had taken a shower, brushed her teeth and combed her hair all at the same time. "Oh, jeez!"

Jaina's door slammed shut as she hastily put on her robe and ran for the dinning hall.

* * *

Meanwhile, two floors down at the Jedi Temple, another young student sat tersely at her desk, reviewing kata positions, breakfast a mere afterthought. 

Light filtered in through a crack in the heavy red curtains on the window and fell on the auburn hair of twelve year old Arryn Mindalen.

She blinked her unusual cerulean eyes at the computer screen and habitually pulled her hair into an intricate braid as she read.

A loud noise emitting from the datapad on her bedside table sharply drew her concentration away from her computer, her schedule flashing on her ceiling. It was time to get going.

Arryn pulled on her boots and walked out the door, mumbling to herself.

"Well, here goes…everything."

* * *

Jaina walked through the hallways, nervous of the day ahead of her. Her thirteenth birthday was coming in less than a month and if no master picked her, it would be off to the AgriCorps. 

_Yikes, _she thought with a shudder. _Ugh...I can't let that happen._

She spotted her two friends, Faithe Policarpio and Sari-Chell Summers, at a table nearby.

Easing slightly at seeing their faces, she made her way to the table. Jaina was so focused on her anxieties about Exhibition Day that she didn't notice the other girl walking right towards her.

"Oh, my goodness, I am so, so sorry!" Jaina exclaimed helping her pick up the bag that the other girl dropped. "I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you," the red haired girl replied.

_Oh..._ Jaina thought. _Looks like every Padawan in the whole Temple is nervous..._

"Are you participating in Exhibition Day?" asked the red haired girl with a knowing smile.

"Yes, I am," replied Jaina.

"Me too. Oh goodness, I'm sorry for being so rude. I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Arryn Mindalen. I think I've seen you in some of my classes."

"Oh, hi, I'm Jaina Knightrunner," she replied smiling as she shook her hand. "Hey, aren't you in Master Siri's advance lightsaber training? I see you every week."

"Oh, you're there too?" Arryn asked. "Does she go hard on you too?"

"If by 'hard' you mean the extra sit-ups, the jump-and-jacks and all the velocities against her, then, yes, pretty much," she replied smiling wryly. "At least the hard physical training will help today."

"Hey, Arryn, over here!" called a voice Jaina knew as Anaria Zahn.

"Those are my friends. So I'll see you later?" Arryn asked.

Jaina smiled back. "Most definitely."

* * *

"Hey, Jaina, you all right?" Faithe asked as her friend sat down next to her, a tray of food in her hands. 

"Um, yeah," Jaina replied. "Just really, really scared. Actually, no, that's a lie. I'm TERRIFIED."

"Why would you be scared?" Sari-Chell asked.

"Well, duh," she replied smiling. "I have only like two weeks and this is the last Exhibition Day before I turn thirteen."

"Ahh..."

"Still!" Faithe said. "You are the sparring club head--"

"Faithe, choosing a padawan does not always rely on physical strength," Jaina stated.

"Jaina," Sari said, "You might even be our valedictorian--"

"Not with my current grades in Huttese," she interrupted.

"Jaina, just stop looking at the downside for once," Faithe begged. "Okay, just answer my questions with a simple 'yes' or 'no.' Can you do that?"

"Of course."

"Okay, now, wasn't it you who was elected the president for the twelve year-olds sparring club?"

"Yes."

"Wasn't it you who got the highest grades in the whole clan just last semester?" Sari asked.

"Yes."

"And, Jaina Knightrunner," Faithe smiled proudly. "Is it going to be you, who is going to walk out these doors tonight, with a master?"

"OH, YEAH!" Jaina exclaimed standing up. "You know what? You guys are right? I shouldn't be worried because whatever happens, happens."

"Yep," both said.

"And I shouldn't be panicking because the right master will come, when the time is right."

"Yep."

"And I am going to walk into the Room of a Thousand Fountains WITH COMPLETE CONFIDENCE!"

"YEAH!" Faithe and Sari stood up and three girls gave high 5s gigling.

"You know," Sari smiled. "This is fun. We should do this more often."

"Yeah...although," Jaina smiled sheepishly, "I still am TERRIFIED."

Sari and Faithe groaned. "We're going to have some work to do..."

* * *

At the table several rows over, Arryn and her two best friends, Elantra, and Anaria were in the middle of a similar conversation. 

"This is insane," said Arryn, barely picking at her plate of breakfast. "I think there must be some rule against subjecting students to this kind of torture. It can't be good for our psyches."

Elantra's gulp of blue milk nearly shot out his nose

"Arryn, honestly, you say the most random things when you're under stress."

Arryn smiled. "Yes, Elantra, I know. But there is a part of me that really doesn't want to do this. What happens if I don't get chosen? I hate this phase of waiting...it perturbs me like nothing else."

Anaria took Arryn's fork, stabbed some of her breakfast, and handed it back to her. "You won't get chosen unless you eat," she said pointedly.

"Fine, yes, you have a point." Arryn dug into her food and tried to think of other, more pleasant things.

"Ary, you'll be fine. Just relax. You've been preparing for this for longer than I can remember. At this point, you can only trust in the Force. Whatever happens, happens. Don't worry." Elantra locked eyes with his best friend.

She held his gaze for a moment as his message sunk in and nodded. She trusted the Force and knew that things would work out no matter what.

* * *

"You know what? Suddenly, I don't really feel like going," Obi-Wan Kenobi admitted. "It doesn't seem like a really good idea." 

"Come on, master!" Anakin Skywalker urged. "Don't back out on this one! You've faced many dangers in this entire universe and you're telling me that you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, can't even face Exhibition Day?"

"Yes," he replied nervously. "Anakin, you were my only padawan and I took you because it was my dying masters wish. We turned out to be closer than ever and I'm not sure if I'm ready to choose someone else."

"Master, you were able to handle me. Anyone else will be a piece of cake!" Anakin smiled as Obi-Wan chuckled. "Besides, I've done my homework- this is a great group of students."

Obi-Wan put on a face of mock surprise. "You've actually done research on the students...beforehand?"

"Very funny, Master." Anakin rolled his eyes at the jest. "What's wrong with wanting to know into what I'm about to get myself?"

"You are turning over a new leaf, Anakin. I'm impressed."

"I learned from the best."

"So did I, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "So did I. Jedi Masters keep saying that they learn most things from their padawans. I think I'm beginning to understand."

"You know, Master Yoda said this wise saying to me all those years ago. He said: 'a great teacher makes his student better than himself.' That's why you're so great, master. Because I'm now finally better than you," he said with a wink.

"You wish, my former, but still young, apprentice."

* * *

_Why? Why am I doing this?_ Jaina nervously walked around the bleachers. She had gone around the entire training room about five times and this stroll didn't help things AT ALL. 

_Maybe I'm just making a fool of myself...I mean, there's no way I'm going to get chosen and I'll end up a reject for the REST OF MY LIFE! What's wrong with me? I can't--_

"Jaina?"

"Yes?" Jaina turned around. "Oh, hi, Arryn!"

"You pace when you're nervous, too?"

"Well, everyone has a weird habit they haven't outgrown," Jaina remarked with a sheepish grin

"Haha, don't worry...I do the same."

"It's great to know I'm not alone...so, do you have an idea as to who you want for a master?"

"Well, I suppose I could give the diplomatic answer and say that I'm here just to enjoy the opportunities that Exhibition Day provides," Arryn's face quickly broke into a smile, "But we both know that's not true." She twirled the end of her auburn brain. "Would you be awfully mad if I said yes...but didn't reveal whom? I _really_ don't want to jinx myself."

"No, I completely understand," Jaina said with a smile. "I actually don't want to jinx myself either. Although I probably already have with all this...I don't think I've ever felt this, I feel so...I just... I know that I...uh, never mind. My friends don't really understand me and I don't think anyone ever will."

Jaina's smile transformed into a frown. "All of my friends are like a year younger and they don't have anything to ever worry about except their grades," she said with a sigh.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be a year younger!" cried Arryn. "It's ironic, though. I can't count the number of times last year where all I wanted was to be here at Exhibition Day. Now that it's finally arrived, I wish it were over."

"Exactly," Jaina said. "Do you ever get that feeling where you just...you just know that you belong out there. In the front of battle, in the pilot's seat of a giant starship or just at your master's side? I know I don't belong in the AgriCorps. It's this weird feeling but I know I don't belong there."

"Of course! That's what I'd consider the _true_ will of the Force."

"It just seems so cruel that we'd be sent as farmers or something just because we turned thirteen! Most people around this universe are excited for the day when they become teenagers, and we're terrified of it."

Arryn and Jaina looked at each other and burst out laughing. "I'm so glad that I'm not alone," said Arryn.

"Me too!" Jaina said in relief. "You know what, I think this is the start of an...interesting friendship, Arryn Mindalen."

Arryn smiled. "You know, I think you might just be right, Jaina Knightrunner."

* * *

**A/N: Like it so far? Who do you think their masters are going to be? Please review our story and we hope you enjoy it!**


	2. Exhibition Day Begins

GENERATIONS

Chapter 2 - Exhibition Day Begins

Jaina grunted, pushing a lock of hair off her face and looking down for the thousandth time. Her legs were aching, begging to be placed on land and she was starting to get really, extremely dizzy. Jaina could feel all the blood reaching her head and her hands were already numb.

She and some other initiates had been hanging upside down on a steel bar for about ten minutes now and everyone was exhausted.

When they first began, they were about ten and now only three remained since the other seven had already fallen into the gigantic lake of the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

Arryn had been extremely against going up there so Jaina was now the one dangling twenty feet in the air.

She had no idea why she refused to be the one but didn't question her new friend's decision.

The rules stated that once there were only two left on the bar, those two initiates would duel with distracting seeker droids shooting at them and the terrifying drop to the lake below.

There were several other dangling bars to which they could jump to, but it was a huge risk since it was easy to slip off.

Jaina exhaled sharply as a drop of sweat hit the water and her leg threatened to give way again. She tightened the grip of her thigh and foreleg even more and glanced at the others.

_Can somebody just fall off already?! Once we're done with the duel, we can move on!_ Right after the ended and the other opponent fell, the partners of the last two people left would begin their one-on-one swimming race. _FALL! Fall already!_

It was usually said that the higher points a team had, the greater chances were that the initiates in that team would get picked. She and Arryn had willingly and excitedly become partners. So Sari and Faithe were a separate pair and so were Elantra and Anaria.

By the end of the week, the masters would make their announcements.

Arryn watched Jaina up on the bar above the lake and sent her waves of encouragement through the Force. _Come on, you can do it,_ she mentally told Jaina.

At that precise moment, Elantra neatly dove into the lake. _Nice!_ She shook her head as she regarded her partner and their competition.

Malina Greer, another Padawan, stood next to her, shielding her eyes from the beams of artificial light in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. "Hey, doesn't Elantra Villa-Neuava have a Master already?"

Arryn turned to her year mate and smiled. "Yeah, it's Siri Tachi."

"Then what is he doing here?" She wrinkled her nose and gestured to the competition. "Don't tell me it's for fun," she said in good humor.

Arryn laughed. "Actually…yes. He and Anaria Zahn entered because they had so much fun last year."

Malina laughed and shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever understand those two."

"I know! They don't have to worry about the pressure of getting picked or anything. Ugh, unfair!" said Arryn, as she watched Jaina readjust her position on the bar to maintain balance.

_Come on Jaina! Hold on…you're almost there! _

_Okay, only a few more seconds and I'm gonna fall. Fall, somebody! FALL!_ Jaina thought, despite the encouragement.

Finally, the last male initiate, Malina's twin brother Peighton, had let go so Jaina was left to face her opponent, the one person in the universe who she didn't want to be stuck with: Brissian Bartolemei. Her sworn enemy. _Well, rival,_ she corrected herself with a smile.

Not wasting a second, Jaina bent her body backwards, grabbing the bar and swung herself until she reached a sitting position. Then she stood up with extremely precise balance, her lightsaber flying to her open palm.

"Bring it on, Brissian," she said in a barely audible voice, so only Brissian could hear.

"You're gonna die, Jaina" she taunted with her twisted smile.

"When will you grow up?!" Jaina snarled, swiftly taking the offensive and driving Brissian back.

Jaina somersaulted forward and on to the next bar, not noticing the incoming seeker droids. An energy blast erupted near her feet causing her to temporarily lose her balance.

Brissian blocked all the shots easily and took the advantage of that momentary distraction. Jaina parried another vicious swing and jumped over a low kick.

The bar shook violently when she landed and both girls grabbed on to the ropes for balance. She could feel the eyes of the crowd on them and could practically hear the quiet whispers.

"Whoa! It looks like the fight's getting personal!" A teenage Padawan remarked loudly enough for them to hear.

Jaina took the offensive one last time and decided that it was time to use the unorthodox. The second rule of lightsaber training was do what you must, but in an unexpected way.

Smiling inwardly, Jaina let Brissian strike at her and pretended to be hit. Jaina fell about two feet and grabbed the bar, swung up and Force-pushed three seeker droids towards Brissian.

Brissian, caught by surprise, was unable to react in time. The three shots ruined her balance and she fell to the water below.

"GO, ARRYN!" Jaina shouted and smiled as Arryn and Lucien, Brissian's equally obnoxious twin brother, prepared for the race. Jaina clipped her lightsaber to her belt and dove into the cool, fresh water.

Arryn grinned as she watched Brissian forced off her bar by Jaina's lightsaber technique. She pulled off her outer tunic and prepared to begin the swimming competition. Next to her stood Lucien, tying back his solid white hair. He smirked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Of course, up against teeny tiny Mindalen. Boy, the Masters certainly have a sense of humor. Don't worry, I'm a world-class swimmer. Beating you will be a piece of cake. See you later, sucker."

Arryn rolled her eyes. "Why don't you save your energy for the race, Lucien? Or better yet, just don't talk at all."

The Master overseeing the swimming aspect of Exhibition Day came over. "Breathers in? Ready? Set…._go!_"

Arryn lithely sprung off the bank of the lake and made a perfectly arched dive into the crystal water. She could hear the waterfall at the other end and blocked out all the extraneous sound, including Lucien's loud splashing.

Bobbing with the stroke, she focused all her energy on her movement and pushed herself harder than she ever had before. _Faster, faster, come on, you can go faster!_ Arryn told herself. Her feet and arms sprung into action with a sudden burst of adrenaline and she felt herself propel forward, leaving Lucien a good distance behind her.

Jaina's muscles tensed as Arryn and Lucien neared the edge of the lake. Once Arryn got up, she'd have to grab the end of Jaina's harness while she'd climb the artificial "mountain."

After Jaina reached the top, she'd grab the second harness and help Arryn up in turn. It was all about teamwork. After this exercise, it would be the lunch break and then the quiz bee test.

_Come on, focus on this! _Jaina scolded herself. _I have studied enough! I have to worry about this!_ "Come on, Arryn! YOU CAN DO IT! ALMOST THERE!"

Arryn heard one voice above the roar of the crowd and the waterfall- that of her partner Jaina. There was no way she was going to let her friend down, not even to a Padawan twice her size with an ego to boot.

She shot forward in the water and reached the edge of the lake, a good five seconds before Lucien. She ran up the grassy bank, still sopping wet, threw down her breather, and grabbed Jaina's harness. The two teammates shared a quick smile before Jaina took off up the faux mountain.

"Come on, you can do it!" called Arryn.

Next to her, Lucien pushed his sister into the harness.

"Go, get up there!" he hissed at Brissian.

"I am going, nerf-brain!" she retorted back, and scurried to try to reach Jaina

Jaina smirked at Brissian before leaping on to the next ledge. "Bye-bye, farm girl. I'm sure you'll enjoy the AgriCorps."

Brissian cursed and struggled to reach the next handhold. "I'll get you for this, Knightrunner!"

"You can try!" She exclaimed back, jumping from the ledge, hanging from one hand in a tiny crack. "Have fun at the AgriCorps, farm girl!" She cried reaching the top and grabbing Arryn's harness, "Arryn you're up!"

_This is why I didn't want to take Jaina's place over the lake,_ thought Arryn to herself as she slipped on the harness and began to climb. Arryn was deathly afraid of heights.

Her embarrassment was too great to tell anyone, so when asked if she wanted to partake in sequence high above the lake, she'd insisted that swimming was her greater strength. As she climbed higher and higher, she kept forcing herself to look up and not look at the dizzying distance to the ground.

She saw Jaina's eyes intent on winning and grabbed another handhold, pulling herself that much closer to winning.

Lucien was up on the wall, too, and found a handhold beside Arryn's foot. Both still a bit slippery from the lake water, he pretended to not grasp the hold and instead knock Arryn's foot out from under her.

Dangling with only her hands and harness to support her, Arryn searched desperately for a new place to put her bare foot, knowing that the mishap was entirely on purpose.

"Arryn!" Jaina called, struggling with the harness. "Are you all right?"

Arryn didn't reply. She reached with the force and felt herself rise up to the next highest place and saw Jaina's hand within reach.

"I can almost reach you!" Jaina exclaimed.

She grabbed Arryn's arm eagerly and the two girls ran to the other edge of the mountain.

"Okay, I'll go first," Jaina remarked beginning to rappel down. "Once I'm down, start immediately!"

Jaina didn't bother to look down. She just concentrated on the feel of each rock she passed. If she looked up and saw Brissian, she'd get worried. If she looked down and saw that she was close to the ground, she'd get cocky. As much as possible, she had to avoid both. Finally, she felt the heel of her foot reach the ground.

"Arryn, your turn!"

* * *

Obi-Wan turned his head from Jaina to Arryn. "I must admit, Initiates Knightrunner and Mindalen are very impressive." 

"They're showing great teamwork," Anakin said. "That's going to be great for missions especially with the Clone Wars."

"Mm-hmm…" Obi-Wan agreed. "Have you looked up their files?"

"Both academically steady and Jaina's battling Anaria Zahn for the title of top in their clan in terms of scores, both have no bad mark in terms of discipline and behavior, extracurricular activities…oh, the only problem is that Jaina's thirteenth birthday is in two weeks," Anakin said. "So, this was pretty much her last chance."

"Oh."

"Hey, Master, what would happen if one of us took Arryn and the other took Jaina?" Anakin asked turning to his former master. "I mean, they seem to be friends so there wouldn't be any problems if we have joint missions."

"Yes, I'm thinking about it, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, rubbing his chin. "It would be a good idea. But being a master is not something that should be rashly decided, Anakin. It's going to take years of sevice. I think we should think about it for a while longer."

* * *

Arryn looked down and thought she was going to vomit. She heard Jaina call to her and turned to rappel down, facing toward the rocks in hopes that her head would stop spinning. 

She saw Lucien gaining on her and sped faster and faster down the rocks until she felt grass between her bare toes. Solid ground.

She unclipped her harness and both she and Jaina gave each other high fives, shouting "Solah!"

The first part was over. They'd won.

**A/N: Sorry it took forever for us to update but the time difference and our busy schedules made it pretty difficult but anyway here's that chapter!**


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